My love for a delicious plate of pasta is deeply rooted to my upbringing. I remember playing with flour at the kitchen table while my grandmothers would knead dough to make fresh tagliatelle, fettuccine, ravioli, lasagna, and gnocchi for Sunday lunch or a special event. These are some of my most cherished memories.
Gnocchi are traditionally made with potatoes, but they can also be made with flour, or they can be made with other veggies for a gluten-free option. And the best part is, you can top them with a variety of toppings; tomato sauce, pesto, rosé, gorgonzola, or butter and sage sauce to name a few.
I like to make my gnocchi without potatoes because they are lighter, and I can go for seconds without feeling like I’m about to explode. So, here’s the recipe for 4 servings:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of flour and extra for dusting
- 1 cup of semola rimaccinata (re-milled semolina)
- 1 cup of warm water (add a few more tablespoons if needed)
- 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of salt
Accessories:
- 1 baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Cutting board
- Gnocchi board or fork
- Knife
- Cellophane
Mix the ingredients into a bowl to create the dough, adding a few more tablespoons of water if needed, and set aside for 30 minutes. You can cover the bowl with cellophane paper or a cloth. While you’re waiting for the dough to rise, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust it lightly with the semola rimaccinata. This is so the gnocchi won’t stick.
Add some flour to the cutting board and cut the dough into four pieces and set the other three aside and cover with a damp cloth.
Cut the dough in half again, and roll out the dough with your hands; it should create the shape of a worm. Don’t make it too thin or it will split. Then, cut the dough creating little pillow shapes, about the size of your thumb nail.
Use your thumb to roll the little pillow along the board to create a grooved texture (You can use a fork if you don’t have a gnocchi board). They should look like this.
Continue with the rest of the dough. Add the gnocchi to the baking sheet and cover it with cellophane and store in the freezer, or you can cook it immediately if you’re ready to eat.
To cook, add the gnocchi to a pot of boiling water, don’t forget to add salt. The gnocchi will rise to the top when they are fully cooked, but I do recommend you taste it first in case you want a softer gnocchi.
You can top it with any sauce you want. If you want to top it with tomato sauce, check out my blog post Sunday Lunch for the recipe.
And volià! You’ve got yourself some homemade gnocchi!
Buon Appetito!
Claudia